Florida School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Mental Health Literacy Training

Florida School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Mental Health Literacy Training

Category: Prevention, Behavioral Interventions, and Supports
Subcategory: Mental Health Literacy Training
State: Florida

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Florida

New in 2024

LAWS

1006.07. District school board duties relating to student discipline and school safety.

The district school board shall provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the attendance and control of students at school, and for proper attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the welfare of students, including:

(6) Safety and security best practices.–Each district school superintendent shall establish policies and procedures for the prevention of violence on school grounds, including the assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior poses a threat to the safety of the school community.

(d) Each district school board and charter school governing board shall adopt, in coordination with local law enforcement agencies and local governments, a family reunification plan to reunite students and employees with their families in the event that a school is closed or unexpectedly evacuated due to a natural or manmade disaster. This reunification plan must be reviewed annually and updated, as applicable.

2. Provide the necessary training and resources to students and school district staff in matters relating to youth mental health awareness and assistance; emergency procedures, including active shooter training; and school safety and security.

1011.62. Funds for operation of schools.

(16) Mental health assistance allocation.–The mental health assistance allocation is created to provide funding to assist school districts in establishing or expanding school-based mental health care; train educators and other school staff in detecting and responding to mental health issues; and connect children, youth, and families who may experience behavioral health issues with appropriate services. These funds shall be allocated annually in the General Appropriations Act or other law to each eligible school district. Each school district shall receive a minimum of $100,000, with the remaining balance allocated based on each school district's proportionate share of the state's total unweighted full-time equivalent student enrollment. Charter schools that submit a plan separate from the school district are entitled to a proportionate share of district funding. The allocated funds may not supplant funds that are provided for this purpose from other operating funds and may not be used to increase salaries or provide bonuses. School districts are encouraged to maximize third-party health insurance benefits and Medicaid claiming for services, where appropriate.

1012.583. Continuing education and inservice training for youth suicide awareness and prevention.

(1) By July 1, 2019, the Department of Education, in consultation with the Statewide Office for Suicide Prevention and suicide prevention experts, shall develop a list of approved youth suicide awareness and prevention training materials and suicide screening instruments that may be used for training in youth suicide awareness, suicide prevention, and suicide screening for instructional personnel in elementary school, middle school, and high school. The approved list of materials:

(b) Must include training on how to identify appropriate mental health services and how to refer youth and their families to those services.

1012.584. Continuing education and inservice training for youth mental health awareness and assistance.

(1) The Department of Education shall establish an evidence-based youth mental health awareness and assistance training program to help school personnel identify and understand the signs of emotional disturbance, mental illness, and substance use disorders and provide such personnel with the skills to help a person who is developing or experiencing an emotional disturbance, mental health, or substance use problem.

(2) The Department of Education shall select a national authority on youth mental health awareness and assistance to facilitate providing youth mental health awareness and assistance training, using a trainer certification model, to all school personnel in elementary, middle, and high schools. Each school safety specialist shall earn, or designate one or more individuals to earn, certification as a youth mental health awareness and assistance trainer. The school safety specialist shall ensure that all school personnel within his or her school district receive youth mental health awareness and assistance training.

(3) The training program shall include, but is not limited to:

(a) An overview of mental illnesses and substance use disorders and the need to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

(b) Information on the potential risk factors and warning signs of emotional disturbance, mental illness, or substance use disorders, including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, psychosis, eating disorders, and self-injury, as well as common treatments for those conditions and how to assess those risks.

(c) Information on how to engage at-risk students with the skills, resources, and knowledge required to assess the situation, and how to identify and encourage the student to use appropriate professional help and other support strategies, including, but not limited to, peer, social, or self-help care.

(4) Each school district shall notify all school personnel who have received training pursuant to this section of mental health services that are available in the school district, and the individual to contact if a student needs services. The term "mental health services" includes, but is not limited to, community mental health services, health care providers, and services provided under ss. 1006.04 and 1011.62(16).

REGULATIONS

6A-1.0018. School safety requirements and monitoring.

(20) Youth Mental Health Awareness and Assistance Training. Each district school safety specialist shall ensure that all school personnel within his or her school district receive youth mental health awareness and assistance training, as provided in Section 1012.584, F.S

6A-1.0019. Threat Management.

(4) CSTAG. Threats assessments initiated on or before December 31, 2023, must be done in accordance with CSTAG and the Model Behavioral Threat Assessment Policies and Best Practices for K-12 Schools, as follows:

(a) Threat management teams. Each school must have a threat management team (previously known as a threat assessment team) that includes persons with expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and law enforcement. The counseling and law enforcement team members must meet the requirements in subparagraphs (5)(c)1. and 4.

(b) Training. Threat management teams at each school must be fully staffed before the start of the school year. Due to the pending switch to the Florida Model, additional training is not required for the Fall 2023 semester, as long as at least one (1) member of the team has been CSTAG trained.

(5) Florida Harm Prevention and Threat Management Model ("Florida Model"). Beginning January 1, 2024, threat management and assessment of concerning behaviors or communications must be conducted in accordance with the Florida Model, as follows:

(a) District Threat Management Coordinator (DTMC). Each school district superintendent must designate a Threat Management Coordinator to oversee threat management at all public K-12 schools, including charter schools sponsored by or under contract with the district. Where there is no superintendent, the lead administrator for the school district must assign the Threat Management Coordinator.

1. The DTMC must:

a. Ensure that all district-level and school-level threat management team personnel are trained in threat management and on the Florida Model.

actions taken. DTMTs must meet as needed to review and consult with SBTMTs and must meet timeframes set forth in the Florida Threat Management Manual.

(g) Training.

1. All members of SBTMTs and DTMTs must be trained on the Florida Model through training provided by or approved by the Office of Safe Schools, as follows:

a. All SBTMT and DTMT members must complete basic Florida Model training.

b. The District Threat Management Coordinator must complete additional training specific to the Coordinator role.

c. School principals, the Threat Management Chair, and the Vice Chair must complete additional training specific to their respective roles.

2. In order to switch to the Florida Model on January 1, 2024, District Threat Management Coordinators, SBTMT members, school principals, and DTMT members must complete Office-approved training no later than December 31, 2023.

3. Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, district and school-level teams must be designated before the start of the school year. Team members who have not previously completed training must complete Florida Model training before the start of the school year. Those appointed to threat management teams after the start of the school year must complete Florida Model training within sixty (60) days of appointment. For assistance in accessing this training, districts must contact the Office in writing at

FloridaModel@fldoe.org.

4. Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, district and school-level team members who have been fully trained in a previous school year must complete an annual refresher training provided by the Office within the first sixty (60) days of school.